The fundamental theoretical principles of this idea have emerged and evolved from the long and detailed study and thorough scrutiny of structure and components of the internal combustion automotive engines, operation and thermodynamics of steps (strokes) of the ‘Air Standard Power Cycles’, effect of each stroke and contribution to reasons of the relatively low efficiency of their operation, etc.
Gasoline car engines operating on ‘Air standard Otto Cycle’ have an efficiency of between 22 and 28%
Diesel car Engines Operating on ‘Air standard Diesel Cycle have an efficiency of between 36 and 42%.
Large engines such as marine units have a higher efficiency which can reach 50%.
However, two-stroke engines, have a lower efficiency which is seldom above 22%.
A major portion of the energy released in gasoline and diesel engines is lost due to the hot exhaust gases and to the cooling water or cooling air used to cool the engines.
Design, structure and construction materials of the gasoline and diesel conventional engines have been continuously studied and developed for over 100 years, to obtain highest efficiency from the used fuels. Quality of fuels and the mode of operation of the two-stroke and four-stroke engines have also been developed and tuned to better control the timings and progress of each stroke and their synchronization (between different cylinders of the same engine).
Significant efforts have been made by many scientists, designers, researchers, inventors, and the like to further improve the efficiency of the internal combustion engines and many patents have been granted worldwide for a variety of claims. Many of them involve better control and timing of the operation, while others involve addition of new complicated parts and components and are difficult or very costly to implement or introduce into the existing engines. Some suggestions weaken the structure of engines and are actually not practical to implement. However, efficiency of the internal combustion engines has continued to generally remain low in terms of utilizing the released fuel energy.
Embodiments of the invention provide ways and means, which can increase extraction of the useful energy from fuels combustion and achieve higher efficiency of conventional engines, but also seek to minimise changes and modifications of their structure, construction, operation, and hence to:                minimise (or eliminate) the requirements for addition of new complicated parts or equipment, particularly moving parts;        confine and simplify the identified and potentially useful modification to the existing components, as far as possible;        minimise (or preferably with no) interference in the moving parts, mechanisms and control systems;        maximise the positive effect from operation of strokes of the current conventional engines;        be easy to introduce into the new engine with minimum cost (Preferably less or no extra cost);        be able to be introduced into the existing engines with minimum cost;        achieve highest efficiency; and        improve the ‘Environmental’ effect of automotive industry on atmosphere.        
Embodiments of the invention modify conventional engines (both two-stroke or a four-stroke internal combustion engines) and significantly increase the efficiency and performance of those engines, and also improve the overall environmental effect of the automotive industry on environment.
Embodiments of the invention modify the cam shaft, or any alternate devices with the function of the cam shaft so that the opening and closing of the individual (and all) inlet-outlet portals (suction valves) of the involved engines, to extend (or reduce) opening of the said valves for a calculated and predetermined time, and also reduce the volume of combustion chambers by a predetermined and calculated amount.
Embodiments of the invention can either be introduced into existing engines or included in new engines and have the advantages of:                maintaining all principles of operation of the ‘Power Cycle’ strokes (suction, compression, power and expansion strokes) of the involved conventional or new engines;        not involving addition of any new moving part or cancelling any existing component;        
maintaining the current basic design, structure and operation principles of the conventional engines;                only slightly dividing or extending the action of some of the strokes and re-arrange their operation and effect in a manner which significantly improve extraction of the useful energy from the used fuels, and hence;        requiring less water or air cooling;        not adding any extra cost to designing and manufacturing the modified new engines. It may actually cost less after mastering the design and construction of the modified engines and reducing the need for large and costly cooling systems, exhaust systems, less fuel consumption, less need to very high Octane fuels, etc.        increasing the efficiency and performance of those engines. For gasoline engines using the ‘Air standard Otto Cycle’ efficiency increases from about 25% to over 40%. For diesel engines using the—‘Air standard Diesel Cycle’ efficiency increases from about 38% to over 48%.        
The modifications can be readily introduced into currently operating engines with acceptable level of costs (as compared with significant savings in the fuels and their costs), which can be confined to only replacing the existing engine cover (head) with another cover comprising embodiments of the invention.
Embodiments of the invention can also be applied to two-stroke engines and could actually increase the efficiency of those types of engines by higher margins and conservatively to above 35%, with huge improvement of their environmental effect.
Embodiments of the invention allow modified engines (gasoline and diesel) to operate with 50% to 60% of the required fuel of unmodified engines, while they achieve more than 85 to 95% of the power, as compared with the situation if the same engine is operated on conventional mode with 100% fuel. Embodiments of the invention achieve this by creating conditions of extended expansion ratio of the combustion gases and subsequently reducing pressure and temperature of the exhaust gases from the current levels of over 0.55 M Pascal (abs) (5.5 Bar) to less than 0.2 M Pascal (abs) (2.0 Bar) and the exhaust temperature from the current levels of over 1300 K to less than 1000 K.
According to a first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for controlling the volume of air inside a combustion chamber and cylinder of an internal combustion engine, comprising an inlet-outlet portal having open and closed states and connected to an air source; and combustion chamber with reduced volume; wherein the inlet-outlet portal is controlled, when open, to permit air to enter the combustion chamber and cylinder and when closed to prevent air from entering or exiting the chamber and cylinder, in which the volume of air located inside the chamber and cylinder when the inlet-outlet portal closes, is less than the volume of the combustion chamber and cylinder defined when the piston is at the bottom dead centre (BDC) position inside the cylinder when the inlet-outlet portal is closed. This embodiment has particular application to engines in which fuel is injected into combustion chamber separately from the air taken into the combustion chamber and cylinder during the intake stroke. Preferably the portal closes during the intake stroke when the piston head has moved to a position of between substantially 40% to substantially 70% of the distance from the top dead centre position towards the bottom dead centre position.
According to a second embodiment of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for controlling the volume of air inside a combustion chamber and cylinder of an internal combustion engine, comprising an inlet-outlet portal having open and closed states and connected to an air source; and combustion chamber with reduced volume; wherein the inlet-outlet portal is controlled, when open, to permit air to enter and exit the combustion chamber and cylinder and when closed to prevent air from entering or exiting the chamber and cylinder, in which the volume of air located inside the chamber and cylinder when the inlet-outlet portal closes, is less than the volume of the combustion chamber and cylinder defined when the piston is at the bottom dead centre (BDC) position inside the cylinder when the inlet-outlet portal is closed. This embodiment has particular application to engines in which fuel is injected into combustion chamber separately from the air taken into the combustion chamber and cylinder during the intake stroke. Preferably, the portal closes during the compression stroke of the piston when the piston head has moved to a position of between substantially 30% to substantially 60% of the distance from the bottom dead centre position towards the top dead centre position.
According to a third embodiment of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for controlling the volume of air and non-combusted fuel mixture inside a combustion chamber and cylinder of an internal combustion engine, comprising an inlet-outlet portal having open and closed states and connected to air and non-combusted fuel source(s); and combustion chamber with reduced volume; wherein the inlet-outlet portal is controlled, when open, to permit air and non-combusted fuel mixture to enter the combustion chamber and cylinder and when closed to prevent air and non-combusted fuel mixture from entering or exiting the chamber and cylinder, in which the volume of air and non-combusted fuel mixture located inside the chamber and cylinder when the inlet-outlet portal closes, is less than the volume of the combustion chamber and cylinder defined when the piston is at the bottom dead centre (BDC) position inside the cylinder when the inlet-outlet portal is closed. This embodiment has particular application to engines in which an air-fuel mixture is taken into the combustion chamber and cylinder during the intake stroke of the engine. Preferably the portal closes during the intake stroke when the piston head has moved to a position of between substantially 40% to substantially 70% of the distance from the top dead centre position towards the bottom dead centre position.
According to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for controlling the volume of air and non-combusted fuel mixture inside a combustion chamber and cylinder of an internal combustion engine, comprising an inlet-outlet portal having open and closed states and connected to air and non-combusted fuel source(s); and combustion chamber with reduced volume; wherein the inlet-outlet portal is controlled, when open, to permit air and non-combusted fuel mixture to enter or enter and exit the combustion chamber and cylinder and when closed to prevent air and non-combusted fuel mixture from entering or exiting the chamber and cylinder, in which the volume of air and non-combusted fuel mixture located inside the chamber and cylinder when the inlet-outlet portal closes, is less than the volume of the combustion chamber and cylinder defined when the piston is at the bottom dead centre (BDC) position inside the cylinder when the inlet-outlet portal is closed. This embodiment has particular application to engines in which an air-fuel mixture is taken into the combustion chamber and cylinder during the intake stroke of the engine. Preferably, the portal closes during the compression stroke of the piston when the piston head has moved to a position of between substantially 30% to substantially 60% of the distance from the bottom dead centre position towards the top dead centre position.
Preferably, the inlet-outlet portal comprises an inlet-outlet valve.
According to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an internal combustion engine comprising: at least one cylinder; at least one piston; a combustion chamber with reduced volume connected to the or each cylinder; at least one inlet-outlet portal for each combustion chamber having open and closed states and connected to an air or air and non-combusted fuel sources; a rotating cam to control each inlet-outlet portal; in which the cam is offset with respect to the bottom dead centre position of the or its respective piston.
According to a sixth embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an internal combustion engine comprising a substantially incompressible member located inside the combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine for reducing the volume of the internal combustion engine.